Chiefs rout rabble Reds
With just one round of Super Rugby league action remaining, the Chiefs - who also temporarily go to the top of the global standings - are in a commanding position.
The Reds, reduced to 13 men in the last 10 minutes of the first half through their own poor discipline, were never a match for the New Zealand franchise.
In the end the Chiefs outscored them by eight tries to one.
The Chiefs were almost unstoppable, scoring 33 points in the first half and 17 in the second to record their biggest ever winning margin in Super Rugby.
They dominated from the outset against a home side that were no match for the Chiefs.
The Chiefs opened the scoring in the second minute thanks to a converted try centre to Seta Tamanivalu, then doubled that lead 10 minutes later when front row forward Atu Moli touched down.
The Reds struck back thanks to a Chris Kuridrani try in the corner, but that was as good as it got for the hapless home team, who were rocked when scrumhalf Nick Frisby was shown a yellow card for kicking the ball out of Sam Cane's hands as he was in the process of scoring.
Referee Nick Briant awarded a penalty try to the Chiefs, then reduced Queensland to 13 men soon after when he sent fullback James Tuttle to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle.
In the 10 minutes the two players were off the field, the Chiefs scored 19 points and the game was over as a contest.
The Chiefs lost some momentum in the second half but with 23 minutes to go they kicked into gear and ran in three tries, two to fullback Damian McKenzie, who also booted five conversions for a personal tally of 20 points.
The Chiefs play the Highlanders in their last match of the regular season next week, while the Queenslanders will hope to finish the season on a better note when they host the Melbourne Rebels.
Chiefs captain Sam Cane said despite the scoreline, his team would have to improve against the Highlanders next week.
"A lot of our tries would have come from one or two phases so it was pleasing to be able to convert those," Cane said.
"But next week against the Highlanders we'll probably have to hold onto the pill a wee bit longer.
"At this stage of the season it's all about building momentum heading into the play-offs."
Man of the match: Samu Kerevi and Eto Nabuli proved to be the Reds' most productive players with ball in hand. Damian McKenzie, with a try-double, displayed his usual attacking flair. Seta Tamanivalu also crossed the line twice, while Toni Pulu and James Lowe also showed their blistering pace. Up front players like Sam Cane, Lachlan Boshier, Tom Sanders and Nathan Harris all produced massive workloads. However, our award goes to Chiefs scrumhalf Tawera Kerr-Barlow, who was the creative spark for the victors.
The scorers:
For the Reds:
Try: Kuridrani
For the Chiefs:
Tries: Tamanivalu 2, Penalty try, Moli, Cane, McKenzie 2, Harris
Cons: McKenzie 5
Yellow card: Nick Frisby (Reds, 29 - foul play, kicking the ball out of an opponent's half), Jack Tuttle (Reds, 30 - foul play, taking a man out in the air)
Teams:
Reds: 15 Jack Tuttle, 14 Chris Kuridrani, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Henry Taefu, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Duncan Paia'aua, 9 Nick Frisby, 8 Curtis Browning, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Cadeyrn Neville, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Andrew Ready, 1 James Slipper (captain).
Replacements: 16 Matt Mafi, 17 Sef Fa'agase, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Lukhan Tui, 20 Leroy Houston, 21 James Tuttle, 22 Anthony Fainga'a, 23 Campbell Magnay.
Chiefs: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Toni Pulu, 13 Seta Tamanivalu, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 James Lowe, 10 Aaron Cruden (co-captain), 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Sam Cane (co-captain), 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Tom Sanders, 5 Taleni Seu, 4 Dominic Bird, 3 Atu Moli, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Kane Hames.
Replacements: 16 Hika Elliot, 17 Siegfried Fisi'ihoi, 18 Siate Tokolahi, 19 Mitchell Brown, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Andrew Horrell, 23 Sam McNicol.
Referee: Nick Briant (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Damien Mitchelmore (Australia)